Born to Wander

Van Loon (If Only), Christianity Today contributor and cofounder of the Perennial Gen lifestyle website, channels the Jewish story of exile in this spirited discussion of the “pilgrim identity” embedded within Christianity. Everyone is living in exile, writes Van Loon, and the purpose of exile is to mold believers into pilgrims following in the path of Jesus Christ. For Van Loon, pilgrimage during the life of a Christian (both practically and metaphorically) is always away from a settled, comfortable life and into one that will reorient followers toward their true home—God himself. Van Loon, who has traveled to Jerusalem seven times, is well educated in biblical history and spends a large portion of the book paraphrasing narratives from the Old and New Testaments—such as the story of Abraham, the Jewish diaspora after Assyrian and Babylonian capture, and the disciples Jesus sent out—that will help readers understand the passages in their historical context. She asserts that pilgrimage carries three themes: moral, physical, and interior. Each chapter ends with a series of questions considering these aspects of pilgrimage stories, as well as a prayer about different challenges of the pilgrim’s journey. Van Loon’s fervent book demonstrates how a response to follow God can be an invitation to a life of motion. (July)